Thousands of Canadians will soon be able to claim part of a recently approved settlement in a class-action lawsuit against Dell.
Aa representative from the law firm Wagners confirmed over email that a $2.1 million settlement was approved in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Feb. 27, 2025.
They stated that Justice John A. Keith “rendered an oral decision from the Bench, approving the settlement as fair and reasonable and in the best interest of the Class, and also approving the fees and disbursements as fair and reasonable.”
Dell class-action lawsuit: The allegations
On Oct. 1, 2020, a class action lawsuit was filed against Dell USA L.P. and Dell Canada Inc., seeking compensation for data thefts by Dell’s former service provider.
According to the law firm, Dell customers became the target of tech support scam calls due to data theft that occurred in 2017. Dell notified customers of the incident on April 2, 2018 and Jan. 25, 2019.
“The class action alleges negligence and intrusion upon seclusion by Dell in relation to the data thefts,” reads the Dell Data Theft class action website. “It seeks compensation for the alleged privacy breaches.”
Are you eligible?
Dell has agreed to pay $2.1 million to compensate eligible Canadians and to cover administration costs and legal fees.
The representative stated that “this applies to all Canadian Dell Customers who Dell could discern were impacted by the 2017 data thefts.”
Check your email — Canadians notified by Dell on April 2, 2018, and/or Jan. 25, 2019 about the data thefts are eligible for a claim. This also includes those who received a notice from Verita Global on Nov. 13, 2024.
If you’re not sure if you’re eligible, you can email [email protected] for more information.
How much can you claim?
According to the law firm, 14,179 Canadians are eligible, and there are two types of compensation.
The first is a base payment of $85, which eligible class members can receive after submitting a distribution form. To claim a base payment, you don’t need to provide proof demonstrating any loss or time spent remedying the data thefts.
The second is an economic loss payment, in which you can receive up to $3,000. To be eligible for this type of compensation, you must be able to provide proof by the applicable deadline that, as a result of the data theft, you incurred fraudulent credit card and banking charges or costs to repair computers or other equipment.
What should you do next?
For now, you don’t need to do anything. Class members will likely receive more information by mid-April detailing how they can obtain their compensation and a link to the distribution form that must be submitted by the deadline that has yet to be determined.
You can check the Dell class action lawsuit website for the latest updates.
